


Value

by EmberForge



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 11:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17182370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberForge/pseuds/EmberForge
Summary: "You'll never be a halfing, and you're certainly no goblin. So what are you, besides a waste of space?"





	Value

The Gentleman had sent them on a mission, and, as always, the payout was big.

There was apparently a new group of bandits in town (well, about fifteen miles outside of town) that were shaking up things for the Gentleman’s business prospects. They seemed to have set up camp on one of his favored trading routes, and had ambushed four of his parties on the past month. They were good, too. Defeated his people easily _and_ managed to avoid any Crownsguard that went their way. Rather than being angry about the upset in his business, the Gentleman was begrudgingly impressed. His task for the Mighty Nein was to convince the bandits to work under him.

If they were disagreeable, well, then they should be disposed of.

It wasn’t terribly difficult to find them. The Nein were all set up to look like an enticing traveling caravan, and once they reached the spot where previous reports had placed the bandits, they were quickly attacked. Luckily, their foresight worked to their advantage, and after a brief fight they managed to convince the party to hear them out. That was how they ended up in their current situation, standing in the middle of the bandit’s camp, located a good distance back from the road and shrouded in trees.

“We agree on matters as a group, here. If you can convince every individual to go along with you, then by all means we will do it,” the bandit leader, an elf named Sedir said smoothly. “For now, if you’d like my cooperation, you’d do well in swaying me by indulging my questions about your magical experience…”

Caleb gave the others a look, and in silent agreement he stepped forward to follow the elven man into the largest tent. Yasha, like a shadow, followed after him, her looming presence bringing comfort to the rest of the group. The rest of the Nein whispered quietly to each other for a moment until a game plan was formed. Fjord went to go talk to the orc that was now tending the fire at the camp, while Beau and Jester went to talk to the two humans standing guard. That left Molly and Nott to make their way over to the goblins, who were sitting in front of one of the smaller tents, playing some sort of game with small stones in the dirt.

“I’ll let you do most of the talking,” Molly told his small companion before they approached the pair. “I imagine that they understand Common, but perhaps they’ll be more receptive to someone who speaks their language.”

“Alright… I can do that,” Nott said. The goblins, both male, looked up from their game as the pair approached. Molly shot them one of his winning smiles, and Nott gave a small wave as they approached. _“H-hi, guys,”_ she said in goblin.

 _“Whazit you want?”_ one of them snarled at her.

_“We just wanted to talk to you about a lucrative business opportunity-“_

_“Yeah? And who’re you to be talkin’ business with us?”_

Nott looked towards Molly. _“Well, this is Molly,”_ Molly waved at the sound of his name, _“and I’m Nott-“_

The goblins shared a glance with each other, and their eyes lit up as the first one cut Nott off mid sentence. "Oh no, we've heard about you. The little goblin who wanted to be a halfling. How pathetic," he said, switching to Common. The second one grinned a horribly crooked grin as his companion let out a hideous laugh. Molly went to take a step forward, but Nott’s hand on his leg stopped him. 

“We overheard what you were saying to the boss,” the second one said, “and this funny situation has put us in a good mood. So sure, we’ll go along with it. But pretending to be all civilized by being a negotiator are you? Well lemme tell you, no one’s ever gonna see you as anything more than a savage beast.”

The first one gave a sharp grin. "You'll never be a halfing, and you're certainly no goblin. So what are you, besides a waste of space?"

Both of them let out peals of laughter at that remark, and instead of waiting for her to answer, they stumbled off further into the camp. Molly only got a glimpse of Nott, her cheeks stained a dark green, when, without a word, Nott took off towards the edge of the forest.

Molly almost called out after her, but thought better of it in case that might alarm the others. Instead, he took off after her as quick as he could. Unfortunately, her head start and her roguish nature made her quickly disappear into the foliage, and it took Molly a good ten minutes until he finally found her a few branches up an old tree. Giving it a considering glance, he took a small running start before leaping up and catching the first branch, and quickly scrambled up to sit beside her. 

Nott’s eyes shone beneath her pulled up hood, though her cheeks seemed dry. She was staring out into the forest around them, and didn’t react as Molly settled next to her. “They’re wrong,” he said firmly.

“...I know,” Nott said.

“Do you?”

“Yes. Kind of. I mean, this kind of thing isn’t exactly new for me. People say all sorts of terrible things to me, all the time. They look at me and assume that that’s what I am. And some of those assumptions are easier to shake than others. Like thinking I was a baby eater, that was all fine, because I knew that it wasn't true. And I’ve seen my fair share of monsters, so I know that I’m not one. But this..."

“What, that you’re a waste of space? You’re _not,_ ” Molly insisted. “We would’ve been dead many times over without you. I’m not sure of the details, but I bet Caleb would still be in prison without you. At the very least in his mind. You bring out something good in him. And Jester smiles more because of you. You matter a lot. To all of us. And anyone who tries to make you think otherwise is a piece of shit.”

A small smile formed on Nott’s lips. “Thank you, Molly.”

Molly smiled at her in return. “Are you okay to go back? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can come collect you when it’s all over.”

“No, I’ll be fine. We should probably get back before the decision’s made anyway.”

Molly assisted Nott in climbing down, and they thankfully didn’t get lost on their way back to camp. The rest of the Nein had gathered, and while they got a few odd glances as they emerged from the woods, no one said anything. Just as they joined the group, Sedir and his people emerged from his tent, and met the Nein in the middle of the clearing.

“So. It seems that you’ve managed to convince everyone. Congratulations. We’ll be glad to join operations with this Gentleman of yours.”

“We’re glad to hear that, sir,” Fjord replied.

“Here is a letter explaining our intent and opening a dialogue on some of the finer points of our business deal. I’d appreciate it if you could pass it on to him.” Sedir passed the letter to Jester, who placed it in her haversack.

“Certainly.”

“It was a pleasure doing business with you. I hope we both will be profitable from this endeavor.” With a nod, Sedir turned and started to make his way back to his tent, the others dispersing around him. Distracted by the leader, Molly just managed to catch the two goblins whisper something to Nott in Goblin, cackling as her cheeks turned green. Without thinking, Molly crossed over to them and grabbed one goblin by the front of his ratty collar, hoisting him into the air until they were nose to nose.

"Listen here, you little punk," he snarled. "Nott is one of the most talented, brightest, bravest souls I know, and she's worth more than everyone in your pathetic little clan combined. Frankly, if you're what constitutes a goblin, then she's much better off not being associated with you. You better warn your friends, because if I dare hear any of you say anything bad about her from here on out, you have my personal assurance that your tongue will shortly be separated from your mouth, and you will never be able to speak such filthy words again. _Nobody wrongs my family, do you understand, you pathetic little piece of filth?"_

The goblin looked about ready to wet himself with fear. He frantically nodded, and Molly threw him to the dirt, where he fell into a graceless heap. Molly watched, satisfied, as he immediately got up and stumbled away as fast as his little legs could carry him, his little friend following on his heels.

He turned back to see the shocked stares of his companions. The rest of the camp had paused to watch the encounter as well, with Sedir looking on stoically from a few feet away. “My apologies, Sedir. I’m afraid I lost control of myself for a moment there.”

“No apologies necessary, my friend. There was no harm done, and Kratz and Ludo should know better when we’re in negotiations. I’ll be sure to remind them for the future.” He turned and disappeared into his tent, giving them their signal to leave.  
It wasn’t until they had made their way back to the safety of the main road that anyone spoke. "Damn," Beau said. "I don't know what you said to him at the end there, but you scared him shitless. Nice one, man." It was only then Molly realized that in his anger, he had unwittingly slipped into Infernal while dealing with that miserable little creature.

“I just told him the truth, that’s all,” Molly replied.

After walking for a little while, Nott detached herself from Caleb to join Molly at the back of the group. “Thank you, Molly.”

“For you, my dear Nott, I’d fight dragons if they dared to say a word against you.”

Nott just slipped her hand into his, and Molly gave it a squeeze as they made their way back to Zadash.

**Author's Note:**

> It’s the holiday season, so my gift to you is mediocre writing! I hope you like it. Let me know if you have any ideas you’d like me to try to write.


End file.
